Word Counter
Count words, characters, sentences and paragraphs — with reading and speaking time.
Words are counted as runs of non-space characters, which is what word processors do and what an assignment limit means in practice.
How the word counter works
Words are counted as runs of non-space characters, which is what word processors do and what an assignment limit means in practice. Characters are counted twice: with spaces, which is what most social platforms limit, and without, which is what some style guides use.
Reading time assumes 238 words per minute — the mean for adult silent reading of non-fiction, from Brysbaert's 2019 meta-analysis of 190 studies. Speaking time assumes 130 words per minute, a measured presentation pace; conversational speech runs faster, at 150 or more.
The counting runs in the page itself, in your browser.
Formula: words = runs of non-whitespace; reading minutes = words / 238
Worked examples
| Inputs | Words | Note |
|---|---|---|
| A short paragraph | 16 | 16 words |
| Two sentences | 7 | 7 words, 2 sentences |
| Nothing at all | 0 | zero |
FAQFrequently asked questions
How are words counted?
As runs of characters separated by whitespace — the same way word processors count, and what an assignment word limit means.
How long does it take to read 1,000 words?
About four minutes at the average adult silent reading pace of 238 words per minute.
How long does 1,000 words take to say?
Roughly eight minutes at a measured presentation pace of 130 words per minute.
Should I count characters with or without spaces?
With spaces for social posts and SMS; without for some style guides and typesetting specs. Both are shown.
Where does the counting happen?
In your browser — the page's own JavaScript does the counting as you type. See the privacy page for what the site collects.
Where these figures come from
- IEC 80000-13 — Information science and technology (quantities and units) — the decimal (kB, MB) versus binary (KiB, MiB) prefixes used throughout
- RFC 4632 — Classless Inter-domain Routing (CIDR) — the address-plan arithmetic behind the subnet calculator
- RFC 1918 — Address Allocation for Private Internets — the private ranges the subnet calculator recognises
- NIST SP 800-63B — Digital Identity Guidelines, Authentication — length over composition rules; the basis of the password guidance here
- NIST SP 800-57 Part 1 — Recommendation for Key Management — key-strength comparisons used by the key-space calculator
- National Cyber Security Centre — password guidance — UK national guidance on password policy
Last checked: September 2026. Units follow the SI decimal convention (IEC 80000-13 defines the binary alternatives); network and security figures cite the defining standard.